Investments integral to effective safety custodianship

Nobuzwe Mangcu

This has been the impetus behind the South African Tyre Manufacturing Conference’s (SATMC) collaboration with industry related stakeholders such as government and the National Regulatory of Compulsory Specifications (NRCS) in addressing the intricacies of the tyre manufacturing industry from production to quality assurances processes supported through proficient regulatory methodologies.

Local industry expansion

Among the many cornerstones behind this collaboration is the continued expansion of South Africa’s tyre manufacturing industry. Last year 11 million tyres were sold locally accounting for 61% in domestic sales. Two million tyres were exported from South Africa while a total of 5 million imported tyres entered our market. These figures corroborate the desideratum of such quality assurance processes which can only be heralded in by concerted collaborations in investment to achieve greater policy and regulatory harmonisation, implementation, and integration.

The value of vision has propelled SATMC’s commitment to partnerships with the Tyre Importers Association in collectively addressing and engaging the technical regulatory institutions such as the NRCS, the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS), the South African National Accreditation System (SANAS), the International Trade and Administration Commission and the South African Revenue Service.

The proactive positioning of engaging regulatory institutions through conversations on technical regulatory standards and specifications, the lack of technical standards and specifications, formulating duty implementation policies as well as tyre tariff amendments alludes to a sense of optimism in shaping a network of qualified custodians if you consider that our local tyre manufacturing industry over the past four years has been galvanized by a R4-bilion collective investment injection towards enhancing tyre production facilities. This has culminated in significant strides made by manufactures in remodelling production processes to not only improve capacity, but also adhere to stringent safety requirements.

The tangible palpableness of these investments is seen in Sumitomo’s truck and bus tyre production facility which will have the sufficiency to meet the growing demand for truck and bus tyres as of 2018. Bridgestone is one of the largest tyre and rubber companies in the world and recently began a process of vesting R700-million over a period of five years into upgrading and expanding its production facility located in Brits in the North West Province.

Continental tyres followed suit with the construction of a R65-million boiler renewal project which commenced in 2012 and completed in 2014 imputing the manufacturer’s endeavor towards sustainable energy and elevated production outputs. Other significant examples of investments have comprised of upgrades to Goodyear’s facility with a stronger focus on passenger car tyres. The manifestation of these investments and their direct implication on the industry is the intensified commitment towards supplying Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs).

Consumer perspective

From a consumer perspective this remains encouraging as ordinary consumers are most likely to use the original brand of tyres which come fitted onto their vehicles, and this we believe, poses increased safety implications in the greater context due to the fact that 75% of all tyres on our roads are SATMC tyres and that the safety of South African motorists remains our central focus.

What is indispensable within the framework of these multi-billion rand investments is the human value facet which must be distinctly visible throughout the industry by means of employment and job creation, as well as local beneficiation and value-addition within the manufacturing process.

A total of 7,000 direct jobs have been created collectively throughout the industry while an additional 4,000 jobs have been created through the industry value chain. This represents the conscious ideology towards a comprehensive investment blueprint that embraces diversity and regulatory reforms as well as the reinforcing of skills expansion within the industry.

Challenges

However, challenges remain a reality within our industry. South Africa tyre manufacturing industry faces global competition from an average of 200 importers of tyres of various brands with about half of which are imported shipped in from the Far East. Some of the implications of this have been the under invoicing of such tyres owing to formula duty implementation. Further challenges have included the sale of unsafe second-hand tyres to the public and the unregulated importation of such tyres.

However, if we are going to attain the veracious custodianship of our tyre manufacturing industry, then the complete on-boarding of relevant partners is required through the cogent support in key messaging and testing techniques. This must form the basis of what is such a safety critical industry. The establishment of an independent tyre testing facility remains a pivotal resource for the industry and ensuring that South Africa solidifies its positioning in the global spectrum.

Therefore, collaboration must be the cornerstone in accomplishing this resource which will require the full participation with NRCS, SABS and government entities such as the Department of Trade and Industry. The complete integration and streamlining of standard regulations is the quintessential representation of safety custodianship over a commodity which represents the value of safety standards for both our market and our overseas markets as well.

In echoing this sentiment we have continued to further advocate on key matters of contention in regard to compulsory standards which govern second-hand tyres - further entrenching the value of safe driving practices, through assisting the industry and consumers on the required standards. Through this the prioritising of all pneumatic tyres for use on passenger and commercial vehicles and trailers manufactured by SATMC members to conform to compulsory safety standards introduced by the Ministry of Trade and Industry remains paramount with the objectives of SATMC.

These are the conversations that we have valued in lieu of what continues to be an integral industry. For this reason we continue to value the essence of collaboration with industry players in speaking to government and issues faced tyre importers and addressing issues such as applying tariff amendments on tyre dealer associates.

Safety custodians

In the endeavour to be custodians of safety with the industry we have continued to welcome and support the processes administered by the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS) for the homologation of tyres manufactured in South Africa. Though we cannot neglect the implementation challenges that have stifled the homologation process, we believe that its foundations are important in mitigating commodities that leave and enter our shores in accordance to stringent standards.

This coupled with an authoritative voice stemming from the key partnerships with industry key players, training and education will aid in developing conversations which create valued awareness which have direct impact from association bodies, to consumers, manufacturers and regulatory entities which comprise traffic and custom officials in helping us generate a positive impact.